Manhattan Monday

- Manhattan's famed 2nd Avenue Deli has reopened - on Third Avenue. The restaurant family's patriach, Abe Lebewohl, was murdered in 1996 in a robbery that remains unsolved. His nephew Jeremy is the co-owner of the new location. I can personally vouch for their spectacular corned beef and pastrami sandwich.

- Cabbies are continuing to thwart the new credit card system which sent them on strike earlier this year. Three out of five cab rides I had this weekend had "out of order" signs on their machines.

- Central Park's annual bird count showed the highest number of species and individual birds ever. "The largest flocks spotted were white-throated sparrows, European starling, and herring gull. Large numbers of mallards ducks, house sparrows, and Canada goose were also spotted."

- Whole Foods ignited a craze this summer with their $15 "designer" reusable shopping bags. But why stop there? Stella McCartney is selling a grocery bag for $465 and Hermes has one for $960. This story is a few months old, but I mention it now because yesterday I saw a woman shopping the Food Emporium with her Chanel grocery bag stuffed with cabbage. Crazy.

- Bond No.9, a company "devoted to bottling the smells inspired by New York City," today released their new fragrance, "Andy Warhol's Silver Factory". Who wants to smell like a dead artist? The living ones can be bad enough. (I kid, I kid.)